GOP Launches Site to Track Federal Spending

The House Republican Conference launched a Web site Thursday to help the public and the press keep track of the billions of taxpayer dollars spent each year on government projects.

Republican Conference Vice Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) told reporters that she hoped the site, sunshine.gop.gov, would become the Google for major government spending programs and a go-to for those who wish to monitor where money from costly legislation, such as the stimulus bill and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, is being spent.

McMorris Rodgers said the site would also track projects earmarked through the annual appropriations process.

Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, praised the site as a one-stop shop area and a great tool for everyone to use.

We are just here to endorse it and to tell folks to use it, she said.

McMorris Rodgers said the data for the site was aggregated from public sources and government sites.

While the House Republican Conference and Minority Leader John Boehners (R-Ohio) office funded the sites production, McMorris Rodgers said she hoped it would become a resource for both sides of the aisle.

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March 13, 2015

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., right, hugs Harold Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, after the Congressman spoke at the IAFF's Legislative Conference General Session at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, March 9, 2015. The day featured addresses by members of Congress and Vice President Joe Biden.